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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

For many companies, fleet management brings up one of those enduring business conundrums: whether or not to outsource. Should you hire an on-site fleet manager or use a company? There are good arguments on both sides, but no one solution fits all companies.

Not having a single picture of what's happening on the floor - or a seamless way to connect it with processes like quoting or material planning - is one of the main reasons that being production manager at a small- or medium-sized manufacturing company is so stressful.

It’s no surprise that recent years have brought a surge in demand for products made in the USA. The financial crisis of 2008, and subsequent recession, have caused Americans to rethink the importance and position of the U.S. economy.

Undoubtedly, maintaining material handling equipment requires an investment of time and money, however, the alternative cost for not maintaining equipment will be much higher since it will lead to the following issues: lost productivity, prematurely retiring equipment and the need to replace equipment.

Although the price to acquire the equipment is important for buyers to consider, there are other long-term costs outside of the equipment purchase price that buyers should also take into account before finalizing their purchase.

A growing number of manufacturing companies are bringing their operations back to the United States and they are discovering that cloud based ERP software can help their core functions become more efficient and cost-effective — ultimately driving greater revenue.

Allison Grealis and I met briefly at the 4th annual Women in Manufacturing Summit, where women working in manufacturing came from around the country to network, share experiences, and offer advice to young women thinking about entering the field.

Besides training employees on the new GHS (Global Harmonization System) labeling elements, new pictograms, and the new SDS (Safety Data Sheet) format, there are more important challenges to compliance, that many employers and Safety Managers may not even realize.

Finding and utilizing the right ERP system is a great way to streamline a company’s manufacturing process, minimize miscommunication and disconnect amongst your employees, and decrease the resulting errors.

As EHS regulations and best practices become more comprehensive and expansive, we’re seeing a new imperative in managing EHS supply chain performance. No longer is it acceptable to simply manage EHS performance within your own organization.

For small to medium-sized manufacturers willing to open their shop doors and let the youth from their community in, it’s an opportunity to teach them skills they can use both within their manufacturing firm and beyond while also helping to reduce the unemployment rate locally.

Without maintenance and reliability professionals, a manufacturer risks asset reliability deterioration, increased maintenance costs, and lost time. To avoid this, something must be done to counteract the shortage of maintenance professionals entering the workforce.

The triple bottom line is a term that was coined in the 90’s. In a nutshell, there are three accounts to the triple bottom line (TBL) — People, Planet and Profit. The conventional wisdom is that a combination of these three components leads to a successful company that retains employees, partners and clients.

How do the youngest crop of workers – who continue to enter the industry as we speak – best learn from their more seasoned counterparts? How do these two groups use the same tools to drive results when one grew up with the internet and the other has spent 30 years keeping measurements in a notebook in their back pocket?